United Nations (UN) Secretary General, António Gutierres, has called for humane conditions for individuals behind bars by ending cycle of inequality, poverty, climate change and respecting human rights.
He made the call at an event marking the 2024 Nelson Mandela International Day, organised by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC), yesterday, in Abuja.
The UN scribe said prisoners were human beings and should be treated so. “We can choose to transform the international economic and financial system in the name of equity. The richest one per cent are responsible for the same quantity of planet-wrecking greenhouse gases as two-thirds of humanity,” he stated.
Represented by the UN Resident Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Fall, Gutierres as individuals: “We can choose to fight racism, respect human rights, combat climate change, and create a world that works for all humanity,” in line with the theme of this years celebration, tagged ‘It Is Still In Our Hands to Combat Poverty and Inequality’.”
While calling for 67 minutes of public service to honour the day, one minute for each year, he lamented: “Our world is unequal and divided, plagued with hunger and poverty and rife but “Nelson Mandela showed us the extraordinary difference one person can make in building a better world.”
Project Coordinator, Prison and Penal Reform, UNODC, Muchaneta Mundopa, observed that the UN’s Standard for the Treatment of Prisons now known as the ‘Mandela Rules’ in honour of late Mandela, stipulates the global accepted standard for effective prison management in the 21st century.
The rules “outline minimum prison conditions, provide guidance and set benchmark for prison staff on how to uphold safety, security and human dignity.
“UNODC is the custodian of the rules, making the Nelson Mandela International Day important for us. This year, UNODC is calling for universal practical application of the rules via the #prisonersmatter campaign,” she said.
Speaking on efforts Nigeria is making to promote inmates’ welfare across custodial facilities, the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said inmates were being provided with skills acquisition opportunities to prepare them for life after incarceration.
Represented by Tunde Ogundare, he said: “All these are efforts by the government but this cannot be done alone by the government, we still need support of the general public on ensuring that custodial centres is uplifted and adheres to international best practices.
“We have about 82, 000 inmates currently in our custodial centres, it is a thing of worry, especially as the number of awaiting trial inmates outweighs the number of convicted inmates. 54, 992 of these inmates are non-convicts,” the minister said.
The Controller General, Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS), Haliru Nababa, said all correctional centres in Nigeria had centres of leaning run by the National Open University of Nigeria and all inmates interested in furthering their education were allowed to enroll free of charge as fees payment have been covered by non-governmental organisations.
